Chris Paul Is ACC Rookie Of The Year
3/15/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 15, 2004
From The Associated Press
Chris Paul came to Wake Forest hoping just to fit in, but quickly found the Demon Deacons would need much more from him.
Though the 6-foot point guard ranked among Atlantic Coast Conference leaders in scoring, assists, steals and free-throw percentage this season, his most important role may have been as the director of Wake Forest's attack during a brutally competitive ACC season.
Paul's beyond-his-years maturity earned him votes from 53 of 93 members of the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association and recognition Monday as named The Associated Press rookie of the year in the ACC.
Duke's Luol Deng received the other 40 votes. Both players were unanimous selections to the all-ACC rookie team.
Paul, who is from Lewisville, just outside Winston-Salem, is the third Wake Forest player to win the award, joining Rodney Rogers in 1991 and Robert O'Kelley in 1998.
"I am surprised," Paul said. "I had no clue that coach (Skip Prosser) was going to hand me the ball like he did.
"I came in not wanting to step on toes, hoping to fit in as best I could," he said. "My teammates helped me out with that. They told me, 'You're the point guard. You're the leader.'"
Paul averaged 14.2 points and 3.2 rebounds while shooting 49 percent from the floor and 84 percent from the line this season. He also ranked fourth in the ACC in assists at 5.8 per game.
But Paul perhaps made his biggest impact on defense, stalking opposing guards and swarming around post players to lead the league in steals at 2.8 per game. That total ranked fifth nationally.
"You're looking into his eyes and he's looking into your eyes, and I'm just thinking to myself, 'I'm not going to let you score. I'm going to stop you,'" Paul said.
Paul had several big performances this year. He also had 30 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals in a win against Cincinnati last month. He scored 12 of his 23 points in the final 5:10 of a home win against Duke last month.
In Friday's ACC tournament loss to Maryland, Paul had 30 points, nine assists, four rebounds and two steals.
"I think he's a natural leader," Prosser said. "He possesses a good understanding of when to hold 'em, when to fold 'em, when to be aggressive with the ball and when to pull it out. We just tell him to follow his instincts, and his instincts are, generally speaking, very good."
Paul also possesses a determination that few can match. As a high school senior, he once scored 61 points in a game to honor his grandfather, who had been beaten to death the week before at age 61.
In that game, he scored the final points when he made a basket and was fouled, but he intentionally missed the free throw to stay at 61 - seven points shy of breaking a 52-year-old North Carolina scoring record. He went on to be named the AP's men's basketball player of the year.
The fact that Paul stayed close to home for college has made it easy for scores of relatives to follow his career. He said about 60 family members bought Wake Forest season tickets, and plenty are in the stands for every game.
He also remains in constant contact with his older brother, C.J., a junior guard for South Carolina-Spartanburg. Paul said he talked to his brother by phone before most games, and his brother ended each call by telling him to "Do your thing."
It relaxed the freshman - and kept him grounded.
"My family has taught me to remain humble, because all this can be taken away in the blink of an eye," he said. "So I just enjoy it for what it is."